Homeowners

Comfort and Health:

Hot water and steam heat systems rely on natural convective air currents and radiation of heat. With warm air ducted systems forced air movement is good for cooling, but poor for heating because drafts have a cooling effect on your body (that is why fans are used on hot days). Ducted air systems also tend to be dirty while the gentle convective air movement in hydronic heating systems does not “stir” the dirt, so hydronic heat is cleaner and healthy. Many people have converted their warm air heating system to hydronic heat due to dust allergies.

Efficient:

Hydronic heat uses small pipes to transport heat to heated areas. Heat lost through these pipes is minimal. Forced air uses large ducts, large ducts lead to air leaks with large heat losses. Moving hot water throughout a typical house requires a circulator pump that uses a lot less than 100 Watts and uses around $25.00 of electricity per year. A typical forced air heating system’s blower uses more than 500 Watts and it costs approximately $200.00 of electricity per year to move the warm air throughout the house.

Quiet:

Hot water and steam heat systems rely on natural convective air currents and radiation of heat. With warm air ducted systems forced air movement is good for cooling, but poor for heating because drafts have a cooling effect on your body (that is why fans are used on hot days). Ducted air systems also tend to be dirty while the gentle convective air movement in hydronic heating systems does not “stir” the dirt, so hydronic heat is cleaner and healthy. Many people have converted their warm air heating system to hydronic heat due to dust allergies. Hydronic heat uses small pipes to transport heat to heated areas. Heat lost through these pipes is minimal. Forced air uses large ducts, large ducts lead to air leaks with large heat losses. Moving hot water throughout a typical house requires a circulator pump that uses a lot less than 100 Watts and uses around $25.00 of electricity per year. A typical forced air heating system’s blower uses more than 500 Watts and it costs approximately $200.00 of electricity per year to move the warm air throughout the house.